Amber Is The Color of Your Energy
by ZweI The Penguin With a Pen
Summary: Coffeehouse AU... kinda. Ilia and Blake having a nice conversation after Ilia's shift at the Beastly Beans. Calico / Catmeleon / Black Rainbow. (Blake X Ilia.) Mention of Bumbleby, but in the past. Also Ilia X Neon in the past. (I've been calling those two 'Double Rainbows'.)


**((A sort-of sequel to 'Bloody Poetry', or at least a story in that same strain. Blake X Ilia. I love Ilia so much. Coffeehouse AU... ish?**

 **((For anyone new here, 'Bloody Poetry' can be found in my fic '30 Days of RWBY Shenanigans'. Chapter six, if I'm not mistaken. Anyway have a new fic!)**

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Blake sipped on her tea, the flavor of the steaming hot drink taking over her senses. Orange hibiscus tea was one of her favorites, and the Beastly Beans coffeehouse in Menagerie made the most stellar blend she'd ever tasted.

It tasted especially exquisite when her favorite barista prepared it. The chameleon girl stripped her frock away and sank into the booth. "Gods, it's great to sit down!" Ilia tiredly cheered. The evening rush had taken it out of her, and she could hardly wait for a superb smoothie and some alone time with her favorite lady.

"But I can't see your body when you're sitting down!" Blake complained, grinning at Ilia. Ilia rolled her eyes at the comment.

"You'll see everything you like when we get home, darling." She smirked at her girlfriend. She felt so lucky to have a girl like Blake. She would sit in the shop for half of Ilia's shift or longer some days, tapping away at her Scroll when a new poem came to her mind. Blake was also good for business, as she bought cup after delicious cup of tea.

And she lifted the spirits of Kobalt Wolfsbane, Ilia's usual co-worker. The jokes never ceased from the wolfy boy when Blake and Ilia walked through the doors.

"So Fluffy has been pretty quiet today. What's that about?" Blake asked with a chuckle. Ilia shook her head.

"I think he's having some home problems. Or perhaps boy issues. He and Cynnamyn have been a bit rocky lately, but Kobalt isn't much for talking about it." Ilia felt bad for her poor wolf boy. Then again, she knew Cynna could be difficult. It seemed to be in the nature of bug faunus, but this particular spider had enough attitude for him and his boyfriend.

"Yeah, I can see that. I hope things get better for him," Blake sighed as she sipped her tea. "Ilia, you make the tastiest tea ever!" She cheered, making Ilia blush a bright red. "HAH I MADE YOUR WHOLE HEAD CHANGE COLOR!"

"You're always so surprised by that, Kitty Cat. It happens sometimes when you're a chameleon. I'm sure you do not entirely voluntary cat stuff, too."

"Most definitely! I went to school with this girl that used to make all sorts of cat jokes about me!" Blake returned. Ilia sighed at the thought.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you..." Ilia sighed. She knew all too well what that was like, going to school in Atlas.

"Don't be. She was never malicious about it! She made puns about everyone." Blake waved a hand dismissively and smirked. "She was smoking hot, too, so that didn't hurt her!" Ilia nearly spat out her smoothie at Blake's remark.

"You forgave her just because she was hot? That's good information for me, I guess!" Ilia smirked, taking another quick sip of her smoothie. She hoped she didn't get a brain freeze. That would be super embarrassing.

"Well, Ilia, that girl ended up being my first girlfriend. If you put it on me as well as she did, we'll probably never argue in the first place." Ilia deadpanned at her girlfriend's reply. Something came to her mind just then.

"Is she the one 'Dragonfire' was about?" She asked. Blake's upper ears wiggled as she nodded. Ilia exhaled excitedly. "Gods, what a woman!" Blake giggled at Ilia's face. She had mentioned Yang to Ilia before, though they'd never talked about exes that much. Blake knew Ilia hadn't had that many good exes, though there was a girl the chameleon spoke highly of all the time. A feisty orange-haired girl with a cat's tail.

That's how Blake found out that Ilia had a thing for catgirls.

"She was pretty amazing. Then she moved away after school finished, and we found out the distance thing didn't work out so well." Her left ear folded downward. "Say, you never mentioned what happened between you and Neon."

Ilia's face fell, the memory crashing into her mind like a tidal wave. "Well, she sort of realized she didn't like women as much as she thought. Some boy with a trumpet came and swept her off her feet, and we were suddenly over." Ilia sighed again. "I feel like she hadn't really figured herself out when we got together."

"That's terrible! I thought you said she was the best girlfriend you'd had before me!"

"She was, but is the best of a bad batch really that great? The others were completely awful to me! One even used me for revenge purposes!" Ilia saw Blake turning bright red with rage. "Calm down, love. I have you now, the best girl I could ask for. I mean, you write poems for me and hang out with me at my job. Who else has ever done that?"

"You're pretty incredible, too! I love when you change colors from your emotions! Especially when you're happy!" Blake cheered. Her girlfriend wasn't sure how to take that compliment. She'd never noticed herself doing such a thing. She changed when she needed to blend in or when Blake asked her to show off, but she thought she had it mostly under control.

"What color is happy? I haven't been that way many times in my life, so I never paid much attention..." Blake thought she might cry hearing that.

"When you're happy, so far as I've noticed, you turn bright gold. Or, perhaps _amber_ is a better description. Amber is the color of your energy, a shade of gold playing naturally... OOH!" Blake produced her Scroll and typed out that line, saving it for use in a poem. When she looked up, Ilia's skin had changed again. She was now a glimmering amber hue, her scales shining like flecks of pure gold. "See? Amber!" Blake snapped a photo with her Scroll before Ilia realized what she was doing. She might have tried to block her face with one hand if she had noticed sooner.

Blake chuckled as she leaned across the table to kiss her reptilian squeeze. Ilia blushed bright red and kissed back.

"DAS GAY!" They heard Kobalt yell from behind his counter. Blake paid him no mind, though Ilia shot him a finger.

"I should hope so, Kobalt. That's how I like it!" Ilia retorted. Blake burst into laughter.

"You guys are so cute! Nauseatingly cute, even. Another tea, Miss Belladonna?" The boy with the fluffy wolf ears asked his left ear wiggling.

"Sure, but in a to-go cup, please and thank you. I think Scale Face is ready to leave," Blake told him, winking at Ilia.

"Shut your face, Kitty Cat!"

"Excuse me, that's _Panther_ when there are people around!" Blake sassed, trying and failing to keep a straight face.

"I thought that was for when people _weren't_ around..." Ilia fired back, giving Blake the eyes she always loved seeing.

"You two are disgusting! Get out of my coffeehouse!" Kobalt joked when he returned with a pair of to-go tumblers. Blake's was filled with her favorite tea while Ilia had herself another smoothie. Ilia threw him a handful of Lien as she and Blake stood. "NOICE! This will probably be the best tip I make the rest of my shift!" The wolf boy cheered. Ilia walked over and kissed Blake's cheek, and Kobalt pretended to be repulsed as the two of them walked toward the exit.

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 _Recommended Listenings:_

 _'Amber' by 311_

 **((Kobalt is one of my favorite OCs. I sometimes imagine him and Ilia being the latter two members of Team FNKI. Anyway, back to editing for me! I've been sitting on these fics for far too long!))**


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